Management Help For Family Businesses
Question:

I am the HR person for a small family run business. The family members are always arguing about how things should be done and I'm at a loss as to how to keep the peace. Any advice?

Answer:
This is common problem with family businesses. They fight so hard to avoid any kind of bureaucracy that they end up with no structure, policies or procedures. As the HR person, you need to develop policies and procedures around HR issues, i.e, performance appraisals, goal setting etc. And you need to encourage the family to develop a strategic plan around the direction of the business. The important thing is that whatever you develop, it must be applied to all employees on a consistent basis, including all family members. Hopefully, this creates fairness and equity and avoids some of the infighting.

Answer:
You can't tell the difference between well run family businesses and those that aren't; because their emphasis is on the organization, not the family. There should be clear roles and responsibilities and the family members need to model the behaviors they expect from their employees. I agree with Cindy that a strategic plan gives the organization direction, and that makes it easier to define what needs to be done and by whom. You need to get agreement from the family members around HR policy and procedures and make sure that they can receive, as well as give, each other performance feedback.

The information and opinion that Cindy and Laura share on this site does not constitute legal advice. You must not rely on the information on this website as an alternative to legal advice from your attorney or other professional legal services provider.